Step 9: Glossary, Link Index, and Credits

This Instructable will show you how take a Radio Controller Helicopter and modify the remote control hardware such that it can be operated by free, open source computer software and flown based on brainwave measurements of concentration and relaxation taken by consumer-grade EEG headsets.

The software used in this Instructable consists of two applications, Puzzlebox Synapse and Puzzlebox Brainstorms. The former connects to commercially available consumer-grade EEG headsets, such as the NeuroSky MindSet or Emotiv EPOC. The latter connects to the transmitter chip extracted from the RC Helicopter's remote control and issues flight commands and settings based on detections received from Puzzlebox Synapse. Software (including source code) is available for download from the project website:

Hey,This is epic what you've got here. Im gonna make it for my high school exhibition and i live in the united arab emirates. Please can you suggest me the specific name of the eeg headset by neurosky.. because online there are many and i am not sure which to buy specifically. Please reply to this asap. Looking forward to your co-ordination

do you only need the eeg headset? and is it possible to program it to go forward when you think "forward" and turn right when you think "turn right"? if so could you post instructions on how to do so? sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, I don't build stuff very often.

Thank you very much for your reply! This is what I'm trying all the time, to change the '--command=', the blue LED turns on at the helicopter, the antenna achievement synchronize with the helicopter, but I get ERROR.An example of this you can see in the following pictures that i add.What should I do or Which part of the code I need to change to make the helicopter fly?

Sorry for the delayed response, but yes absolutely that would work. The only thing you are missing when you used a hacked mindflex is the Raw EEG wave. You still get the Attention and Meditation algorithms.

That should work just fine. We use a Saleae Logic analyzer ourselves (which is also USB). The oscilloscope in the video is only being used to confirm that the control signal is digital instead of analog.

Hi sir: I am michael,a university student from China.Actually,i made a control for a aircraft (not a RC Helicopter like yours )by using a Mindwave after reading your artical.The software is written by myself,it is Labview and they are connencted by bluetooth.My question is since we just can get two datas:attention and meditation,how can we control our aircraft to a correct direction by Mindwave.For example,if i want the aircraft to go left,what should i do by dealing with the two datas?

Before proceeding, you should be aware that you should assume every model helicopter will use a different microcontroller and/or transmitter chip and potentially an entirely different control mechanism, even when working with two models from the same manufacturer. Its even possible two helicopters which are listed as the same model will have different chips inside over time due to differences in production runs! There are no guarantees.

That said, our helicopter used a "Spektrum DSM2" transmitter chip, which was printed on the side of the box. So its fairly reasonable to assume anything else with that same brand and logo will have a similar configuration. But again, no promises.

To answer your questions more fully:

1) We used a logic analyzer to figure out what was going on with our circuit. The oscilloscope was a more important first step though as it helped us to learn about our circuit - specifically that there was a digital signal between the microcontroller and transmitter chip. If this wasn't the case we would not have had any use for a logic analyzer. If you are affiliated with a university they should have an oscilloscope and someone capable of educating you in its use.

2) Most digital devices speak to one another using some serial protocol. That's a good thing. Just as it is easier for you to read this message one word at a time (letter by letter in fact) than trying to read multiple lines all at once (ergo in parallel). Anyway you are probably thinking of the type of parallel port printers used to use but I think you'll find it is nearly impossible to locate a modern computer which still has one.

3) A "cheap" helicopter is likely to use less complex parts and likely different control mechanisms, such as IR. It would be easier to hack the joystick potentiometers for such a device.

Finally, one last word - if you do not have a solid foundation in electronics you're going to want to find and work directly in person with someone who does. Most of what I have learned personally was from working on projects such as this alongside much more experienced individuals. Trying to ask complex questions over an internet forum will quickly become an exercise in frustration - not the least of which for the person trying to answer them!

Here's a thought: Thought-controlled slot cars. The harder you concentrate, the faster the car goes. When you need to brake, however, you have to relax. Which is difficult, 'cause your car is hurtling towards a bend at far too high a speed. It'd be engaging, difficult and fun. I see a profit in this.

In this project we encountered a Spektrum DSM2 transmitter chip, which receives as its input a serial protocol from the remote's microcontroller. The chip does not, to my knowledge have a parallel interface.

In any case we modified an existing hardware device, so our equipment had to match.

Sir, I have some doubts. So please me explain these... Your project explanations are very nice...I can understand your explanations. But I can’t able to understand your proto type board connections, because it is quite different from my text book explanations. So please explain me about “there are four wires one is +ve, -ve, Gnd, and data sending connections in data cable and remote control and also why you are using Blade mCX2 model helicopter to control the MLP4DSM type of remote control...why not the same model helicopter... and after finishing connections, you have shown another one 55 seconds video, why you are using here same 2laptops and what are all the software installed in it”...

- The MLP4DSM is the controller provided with the Blade mCX2, so that was the most obvious choice to use.

- The USB-to-Serial adapter cable we used provides 4 pins: Power, Ground/Negative (they are the same wire), Rx and Tx. We first needed to receive data (Rx) from the remote control's circuit board microprocessor to read the commands it would send to the transmitter chip. Later we needed to transmit that same data (Tx) to the transmitter chip. In our example we used Red for positive power, black for ground/negative, yellow for Rx and orange for Tx.

- Only one laptop is necessary. We used two during our development for our own convenience. The only software you need to control the helicopters is Puzzlebox Brainstorms. If you want to use mind-control from a NeuroSky headset (or similar) you will also need Puzzlebox Synapse. In the course of the modification we used special software for the software-based Logic Analyzer. All required materials are listed on the first page of the instructions and links to all manufacturers and relevant software is provided in the Glossary:

Sir, Thank for your kind response, definitely I' ll finish this project and send you a photographs, and I can't able to sing up your official site, some more doubts also I have for neurosky headset I have o install drivers provided with headset and puzzle box synapse, and thoshiba blue tooth software also is it... nerosky head set connected with PC via blue tooth is it sir, and after wearing headset how to think a commands. Thanking you, Chandru

One more doubt also sir, In prototype board two terminals is connected to the RC one is black and another one is orange and that orange and yellow wire connections are connected random in connections...this is what I am getting confusion...

The official site for the software is http://brainstorms.puzzlebox.info

If you are running Windows XP, then the recommended Bluetooth stack to use with with the NeuroSky MindSet is from Toshiba. It should be included on the installation CD which comes with the MindSet. The default Microsoft Bluetooth stack should work but many users have experienced connections hanging and frequently timing out while using it.

Besides being able to establish the Bluetooth Serial connection, no other drivers or software should be necessary. Specifically, Puzzlebox Synapse is a replacement for NeuroSky's ThinkGear server, so you don't want to run both at the same time. Puzzlebox Brainstorms can talk to either NeuroSky ThinkGear or Puzzlebox Synapse as they both provide the same protocol.

The NeuroSky MindSet measures levels of attention and relaxation. Some suggestions for achieving and maintaining a high level of focus include performing mathematics in your head, reciting song lyrics, or naming each street from one part of a familiar city to another. To achieve high levels of relaxation it helps to close one's eyes and meditate. Everyone is a little different so perhaps you will find what works best for you by experimenting.

Finally to answer your question about the wires, the connections are not random. If you are using the exact transmitter chip described in this document with a USB serial cable, you don't need to worry about reading values from the microcontroller because we have already traced them out for you in the source code.

You will only need to connect the positive (red) and ground (black) cables from the USB serial adapter to the positive and ground pins of the transmitter chip. Then you will need to connect the "transmit" (Tx) wire from the USB serial adapter to the "receive" (Rx) pin of the transmitter chip -- because your computer will be transmitting commands to the chip, the chip will receive those commands, and re-transmit them through the radio signal.

A prototype board with several wires are shown in the video so that we could easily change between reading values from the microcontroller to writing values to the transmitter. If all you want to do is fly the helicopter form computer software you don't need to reproduce all of that work and you will only ever need three wires to connect the transmitter chip to the USB-to-Serial adapter.

You don't think a specific word or command, the EEG simply measures your brainwaves and compares characteristics to those of a known baseline (composited from a large pool of test subjects during a scientific study).

In other words, if you ever play sports such as basketball, while on the court taking foul shots one after another, you have to block the noise and distraction of people around you in order to focus on making the shots. In that moment, if you were doing well, you would tend to measure a high level of focus. If on the other hand you were shooting poorly because of someone shouting or the sun in your eyes, then you would tend to measure low focus.

Its the same if you are watching a boring television show (low focus) versus your favourite movie (high focus).

If you are trying to write a paper for class and you're not making any progress, you would tend to measure low focus, but if you knew everything you wanted to say and were typing it out as fast as your fingers would let you, you would tend to measure with high focus.

We use those high-focus-tendencies to make the helicopter fly. Whether you happen to be playing basketball, watching a movie, or writing a paper at the time you are wearing the headset doesn't affect the software - only how focused or engaged you are at the time.